Process for marking paper.



H. BROWN.

PROCESS FOR MARKING PAPER. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25. 1913.

Patented. July 3, 1917 HOWARD BROWN, 0F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS. V

PROCESS FOR MARKING PAPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Juiy a, rent.

Application filed June 25, 1913. Serial No. 775,617.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, HOWARD BROWN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and. useful Improvements in Processesfor .Marking Paper, of which the following is my companion applicationSer. No. 774,380,

filed June 18, 1913.

To attain these objects and others of a similar character, which willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art, the method contemplates theuse of an electrotype or other hard and inelastic plate of stereotypecharacter, this plate being shaped to lit a cylinder or roll and mountedto turn with the roll so that paper fed through between the rolls in acontinuous strip may receive the imprint of the electrotype and so canbe made to take on the design appearing on the plate. But in order thatthis eflect on the paper may result from its compression between theelectrotypes and its, opposing roll, the paper strip or web must be injust the right physical condition and more particularly must be justmoist and plastic enough to take the imprint but firm and resistantenough to carry the print through until it can be permanently fixed inthe paper by baking or similar heat treatment.

in general the process here contemplated starts with paper after it hasbeen made, as on a Fourdrinier machine and has been completely dried andwound up in rolls for storage. Preferably the paper is uncalendered,though calendered paper can be used.

This roll of paper with which the operation is started is too dry andfirm to be successfully marked, as here contemplated, unless given apreliminary treatment and in a gen eral way this treatment consists inpassing the paper through a bath of water where it is soaked andrendered soft and pliant, after which the paper is fed to suitable pressrolls for removing the excess water and then goes to a drying mechanism,such as a single drying drum and there the heat of the drum drives outthe moisture and so tempers the web or strip of paper that it is in theproper damp and plastic condition for advantageously receiving theimprint from the rotating electrotypes. The entire operation goes oncontinuously and the paper after receiving its imprint goes toadditional drying means, where the marks are baked in and permanentlyfixed.

Apparatus for carrying out the operations above outlined is disclosed,though some what diagrammatically in the annexed drawings, wherein-Figure 1 is a diagrammatical representation of the complete apparatusemployed.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a pair of rolls between which the paperstrip is passed, and r Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the same.

In the drawings, the roll of paper 1. may be a. roll of ordinary highgrade paper as made on a Fourdrinier machine preferably uncalendered.Itmay be thoroughly dry and may have been in storage a long time andfree from any water mark or identifying character.

The operation of marking can go on con tinuously as the paper is unwoundfrom the roll and at a speed comparable to that at which paper is madeon a Fourdrinier machine. The apparatus for carrying out this result mayhe strung up as shown in Fig. l where the paper as it comes from theroll 1 passes through a water bath 2 indicated diagrammatically in thedrawings and then to a pair of press rolls 3 of usual construction andat which the excess moisture taken up in. bath 2 can be squeezed out inusual manner to deliver a paper web or continuous strip of about thedampness to be found in a Fourdrinier machine. just back of the pressrolls. The continuous web of paper then goes around a steam heateddrying drum 4, this drum acting much as does the first drum of a papermaking machine and serving to drive out some of the moisture remainingin the paper after it leaves the press rolls. This drying cylinder hasthe further function of serving to temper the paper somewhat for itsheat and the evaporation of moisture caused thereby not only reduces thetotal moisture in the paper, but

also equalizes it, and the action, although. not properly designated acoolfing, may,-

however, be regarded as a tempering action adapted to put paper in thatplastic condition best suited to receive and hold the imprint of therigid impression plates.

The impress1on plates 5 whereby the mark is fixed in the plastic paperstrip as it comes rapidly from the drier drum 4, may consist ofelectrotypes made by usual methods and each shaped to fit the surface ofthe supporting roll-orcylinder 6 with preferably nothing'more than aslightly yielding layer be tween the plate and its cylinder, as forinstance a sheet of paper or the like. Cooperating with the electrotypesis a lower roll 7 moving with the same peripheral speed and presenting ahard and rigid face to hold the paper directly against the electrotypesThe electrotypes may be of intricate pattern and can be used to impresssharp details into the damp and plastic web of moving paper, withoutsubstantial displacement of the fibers or tearing apart and withoutsubstantial thinning of the paper, except such thinning as may beincident to the direct and forcible compression of the fibers along thepoints and lines of contact with the raised portions of the plate.

The rigid and unyielding electrotypes, by coming into forcible contactwith the plas tic material while that material is running as acontinuous strip, makes an impression at the stage when the paper isbest adapted to receive it and without such tearing or readjustment ofthe fiber structure as would be detrimental to the paper for the paperstrip is at that stage, sufiiciently firm to retain the impression whilegoing toand around the succeeding drier or. driers, representeddiagrammatically in Fig. 1 by the drier cylin- It may be said that inpassin from the marking rolls around succee ing drier drums, the heat ofthose drums, serves to bake into the paper or fix in the fibers, theimpression produced by the momentary and extreme squeezing to which thefibers were subjected while passing through under the movingelectrotypes. By impressing the mark at the particular stage aboveindicated, the paper is in such condition as regards moisture and fiberdensity and resistance to fiber displacement, that the compressionproduced by the marln'ng plates brin s out a result in striking contrastto the b y of the paper and in efi'ect resembling shades and shadows andthen by passing the sheet almost instantly around another drying drum,the beauty of the mark is made permanent and beyond all danger ofdestruction at the calender rolls or at subsequent stages in the.

treatment or use ofthe paper.

The apparatus to be used in carrying out the results above set forth,may vary in details, but Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate one mounting of theelectrotypes, which will here be described.

Positioned above the drier drums, and these drums may be of thetype-used on the Fourdrinier machine, are two standards 9 and 10,slotted at their tops to form guideways for the bearing blocks of therolls 6 and 7 the lowermost of which is a smooth metal cylinder, overwhich the web of paper runs and the uppermost of which carries thedetachable electrotypes. .A. pair of rings 11 may be carried near theends of the top roller to limitthe possible downward movement of theelectrotypes with respect to roll 7 thereby preventing the electrotypesfrom striking directly against the roll 7 in case of accident to thepaper strip. If desired,

these rings may also serve to limit the degree of compression applied tothe paper strip by the electrotypes.

These rolls may be driven by suitable gears 12 and 13 and may have gearconnection with suitable driving mechanism, whereby the rolls can berotated at just the proper speed to correspond with the speed of thedrying cylinders 1 and 8 and ofthe press rolls 3 which make up otherparts of the system as a whole. At the top of each standard 9 and 10, isa removable cross piece 14, carrying a standard 15 from which ispivotally supported a Weighted lever 16, whereby an adjustable pressuremay be applied to a bar 17 wheel 18 and passing freely through the crosspiece 14 into contact with the bearing block of the top roll. In thisway an adjustable and yielding pressure is applied to the top roll andbecomes effective for governing the pressure at the electrotypes. Byturning the hand wheels 18 their bars 17 threaded through a hand may belifted and with them the twb bears ing blocks and the roll 6, withitselectrotypes. The top roll, can if desired, be entirely removed throughthe top of the standards for replacement or readjustment of theelectrotypes.

A longitudinal shifting of the top roll may be efiected by means of ahand wheel 19, operating a shaft having a bearing in a bracket 20, thisshaft being connected with a hook 21- engaging in an annular slot 22 atone end of the top roll. By turning the hand wheel 19, the roll can beshifted longitudinally-to change the setting of the electrotypes withrespect to the paper web. If the web shifts sidewise on the lower roll,as it may in practice, the top roll can be shifted correspondingly. I

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is:

1. The method of marking a paper web after it has been completely driedon the paper making machine and wound up in a roll, which consists inprogressively saturattemper the material and then applying the desiredimpression through a rigid plate under heavy pressure while the web ispassing rapidly to a drier drum Where that impression can be made morepermanent.

3. The method of marking paper which has been completely formed anddried and wound up in rolls, which consists in saturating the paper withwater'and then driving out excess moisture from the surface thereof tobring it to a damp and plastic condition, and then while said plasticweb is in rapid motion impressing a mark thereon by means of a rigidplate acting under heavy pressure and then immediately passing themarked Web to drying means Where the mark is per manently fixed in thepaper web.

4:. The method of marking paper which consists in saturating it withwater and then impressing the mark under pressure during the dryingwhile the pulp of the paper is wetter interiorly than on the surface.

5. The method of marking a continuous web of paper which consists inprogressively unwinding the web in dry condition from a roll, wetting itto excess, squeezing to remove some of the excess moisture, heating witha drier drum to temper the web and deliver it in a damp plasticcondition and then applying the desired impression through,the action ofa rigid plate under heavy pressure, whereby the fibers of the paper arecompacted without substantial displacement or destruction and thereafterquickly drying the marked web to retain permanently therein theimpression produced by said plate.

6. The method of marking paper which has been completely dried and woundup in a roll, which consists in passing the paper continuously through awater bath and there progressively wetting it to excess, delivering thewet web to press rolls for removal of excess moisture, subjecting theweb immediately thereafter to the tempering action of a drier drumwhereby the web is brought to the desired plastic condition with somemoisture still present and evenly distributed and then applying thedesired impression through a rigid plate under heavy pressure anddirectly contacting with the damp plastic web, whereby the fibers of thepaper are compacted Without substantial displacement or destruction,this pressure of the plate on the paper being extremely heavy and ofshort duration, and thereafter quickly drying-the web at a second drierdrum to fix and retain permanently in the web the impression producedthereon by the plate during its momentary and extremely heavy contacttherewith.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name to this specificationin the presence of two witnesses.

HOWARD BROWN.

Witnesses:

HARLAN P. SMALL, WILLIAM C. GILES.

